Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr.
About the Book
The #1 New York Times Bestselling memoir that inspired the film “October 
Sky,” “Rocket Boys” is a uniquely American memoir — a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mother’s love and a father’s fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space.
With the grace of a natural storyteller, Homer looks back after a distinguished NASA career to tell his own true story of growing up in a dying coal town and of how, against the odds, he made his dreams of launching rockets come true. Homer paints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia mining town of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, when anything was possible.
A story of romance and loss, of growing up and getting out, Homer’s lush, lyrical memoir is a chronicle of triumph — at once exquisitely written and MARVELOUSLY entertaining.
Adapted from BarnesandNoble.com
Discussion Questions for Rocket Boys
Coalwood Recipes for your Book Club Meeting
If your book club is reading “Rocket Boys,” you can add a little authentic flavor to your discussion with one of these West Virginian recipes.
With the exception of the pepperoni rolls, which came from Cook’s Country magazine, the recipes are all from “Cooking the Coalwood Way,” a cookbook published in 2002 by the Coalwood Community United Methodist Church, where author Homer Hickam worshipped as a boy. Two of the recipes, Elsie Hickam’s Rocket Boy Banana Pudding and Elsie’s Chicken Pie, are the from the author’s mother. The blueberry crisp recipe is from Hickam’s wife, Linda.
Linda Hickam’s Blueberry Crisp